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John Richard Robinson

English journalist

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 27, 2026
Entity authorityQ17421742 ↗
Source-derived summary

Sir John Richard Robinson (2 November 1828 – 30 November 1903) was an English journalist, manager and editor of the Daily News. He was also a prominent member of the London-based Reform Club and Guild of Literature and Art.

Early life and family

Born on 2 November 1828 at Witham, Essex, Robinson was the second son of eight children of Richard Robinson, a congregational minister. His wife Sarah was the daughter of John Dennant, also a congregational minister, of Halesworth, Suffolk.

At eleven years of age, Robinson entered the school for the sons of congregational ministers at Lewisham, now Caterham School. Withdrawn from school on 26 June 1843, he was then apprenticed to a firm of booksellers in Shepton Mallet, Somerset.

On 14 July 1859, Robinson married Jane Mapes (died 11 July 1876). She was the youngest daughter of William Granger of the Grange, Wickham Bishops, Essex; and by her he had two sons and one daughter.

Robinson was a paternal uncle to the notable British writer, journalist and editor Bertram Fletcher Robinson. The pair were close and they resided together at Sir John's home in West Kensington between 1901 and 1902.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “John Richard Robinson” as english journalist. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA productive starting point for separating a subject’s documented career from later reputation and commemoration. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1828, 1903, 1843, 1859—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1828. The account is most persuasive where John, Richard and Robinson can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as english journalist. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q17421742. VIAF identifies the subject as 54060250. The Library of Congress control number is nr98009387. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1828, 1903, 1843 and 1859.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “John Richard Robinson”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow John Richard Robinson primary sources, John Richard Robinson archive and John research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “John Richard Robinson”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “John Richard Robinson” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.